Pellet dispenser



April 5, 1966 M. NEEDHAM ETAL 3,244,321

PELLET DISPENSER Filed Oct. 14, 1963 FEEDER/CK MAL COLM NEED/MM JOHN FEEDER/C CAMPBELL CLOSE ROY ARNOLD W/LL/AMS INVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States Patent v O 3,244,321 PELLET DISPENSER Frederick Malcolm Needham, Killara, New South Wales,

John Frederic Campbell Close, Lane Cove, New South Wales, and Roy Arnold Williams, Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia, assignors to Boots Pure Drug Company (Australia) Pty. Limited, New South Wales, Australia, a company of New South Wales Filed Oct. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 315,927 Claims priority, application Australia, Feb. 5, 1963,

27,035/63; Mar. 1, 1963, 27,929/63 6 Claims. (Cl. 221246) This invention has been devised to provide a pellet dispenser which will hold a number of pellets of uniform shape and size and which by a simple manipulation will dispense one pellet each time it is manipulated. The dispenser can be made to be carried in a pocket or handbag.

The pellet dispenser comprises a rectangular case and a lid slidable in the case. The lid has stop means thereon limiting sliding movement of the lid in the case. The case has a duct therein in which are held a number of pellets in a single row. The case also has a dispensing outlet therein. One end of the duct is in communication with a pellet storing chamber defined by the body of the case and the other end thereof is an outlet. A gate on the lid has a pellet chamber therein. The lid is movable to move the pellet chamber from an in register position relative to said duct to a dispensing position in register with said outlet and simultaneously to occlude said duct.

The invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of the pellet dispenser;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the assembled dispenser of FIGURE 1 with part of the lid broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation according to FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view on the plane 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the case shown therein is rectangular and consists of a floor 1, side walls 2, 3, end walls 4, 5 and a lid 6 which is slidable in the case. For this purpose the case has slide grooves 46 formed in the sides 2, 3 adjacent the top and the lid 6 is shaped at its edges to slide in these grooves. The end wall 5 is lower than the end wall 4 to permit said lid to slide.

The end wall 4 has a shoulder 47 with faces 47a-47b formed thereon within the case. The face 47a forms a floor on which the lid slides and the face 47b forms one wall of a duct 48 which is in communication at one end with a chamber, designated as 49, defined by the case. The other wall of the duct 48 is formed by a partition member 50 and the top of the duct 48 is formed by the lid 6. The duct is formed to receive a single row of pellets P.

The partition member 50 has a right angle leg 51 formed thereon which extends to the end wall 5 of the case parallel to and spaced from the side wall 2. The side will 2 has a shoulder 52 with faces 52a-52b formed thereon within the case. The face 52a forms a lid supporting floor, i.e., the bottom wall of the groove 46 on this side of the case, and the other face 5211, together with the iflOOI 1 and the leg 51, forms a slide channel 53 for a gate to be described. The duct 48 communicates at its other (outlet) end with the slide channel 53, and a dispensing outlet 54 is formed through the side wall 2 adjacent the duct 48.

The lid 6 has agate 55 formed on the underside thereof adjacent one edge thereof and throughout its length.

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The gate 55 is dimensioned to be a sliding fit in the slide channel 53 and it has a pellet chamber 56 formed therein adjacent one end thereof, said chamber 56 being positioned to be moved from an in register position relative to the dispensing outlet 54, with the outlet end of the duct 48 occluded by the gate 55, to an in register position relative to the duct 48 and back to a dispensing position in register with the dispensing outlet 54.

The end wall 5 of the case is lower than the end wall 4 thereof to permit sliding movement of the lid. A stop 57 fixed to the underside of the lid 6, is positioned to abut the end wall 5 and, together with the end wall 4, to limit movement of the lid 6 to the two in register positions described. At all times the chamber 49 of the case is occluded by engagement of the lid 6 with the shoulder face 47a.

Assembly of the lid 6 into the operative condition illustrated in FIGS. 2- to 4 is accomplished simply by sliding the lid over the lower end wall 5 and into the grooves 46. Passage of the stop 57 over the end wall 5 is facilitated by the inclined surface on the stop and the resiliency of the material from which the end wall 5 and lid 6 is fabricated. It is noted that this assembly requires that the stop he forced over the end wall 5 and that once assembly is accomplished the upright end surface of the stop 57 is opposed to the wall 5 to prevent inadvertent removal of the lid.

In operation, once the dispenser is assembled into the condition shown in FIG. 2, with pellets confined therein,

it is merely necessary to slide the lid 6 :back and forth, within the limits defined by the end wall 4 and stop 57, to dispense the pellets through the outlet 54 in one at a time fashion. During this operation, the dispenser is preferably held in the position illustrated in FIG. 2 so that gravity will assist the movement of the pellets first into the chamber 56 and then through the outlet 54. To assure that the pellets enter the duct 48, it is also desirable to occasionally tip the dispenser to a position where the pellets will feed to the end of the dispenser containing the duct under the force of gravity.

During the dispensing operation, the shoulder 47 functions to occlude the pellet confining chamber 49, even when the lid 6 is slid to the retracted position where stop 57 abuts the wall 5. Thus, pellets cannot inadvertently pass by the edge portions of the lid. In this operation, the gate 55 also performs an occluding function to prevent the inadvertent passage of pellets into the slide channel 53. Specifically, as can be seen from FIG. 2, when the chamber 56 is in the dispensing position in registry with the outlet 54, the portion of the gate to the right of the chamber 56 functions to close the outlet end of the duct 48. The latter characteristic has the advantage that is prevents pellets from jamming the gate during the dispensing operation.

The preferred construction of the dispenser is completed by finger gripping serrations 68 formed on the upper surface of the lid 6. Although these serrations may be omitted without materially departing from the invention, it is believed apparent that they enhance the ease of operation of the dispenser.

It is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific details of the embodiment herein described, but rather is defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pellet dispenser for holding and dispensing pellets of uniform shape and size, said dispenser comprising:

(a) a case having a floor and upstanding peripheral walls fixed to said floor;

(b) a first partition member fixed relative to said floor and extending upward-1y therefrom adjacent one of said walls to define with the other of said walls a substantially closed boundary;

(c) a lid slidable on a plurality of said walls and spaced from said floor to define with said first partition, the other of said walls and said floor a pellet storing chamber;

(d) at least one duct in said chamber adapted to permitthe passage of pellets therethrough in single file relationship, said duct being formed by said floor, a second partition member fixed relative to said floor, one of said other Walls, and the lid, said duct having an inlet end in open communication with said chamber and an outlet end;

(e) a dispensing outlet in the case;

(f) a gate fixed to said lid and extending downwardly therefrom into said chamber, said gate having a pellet receiving chamber therein;

(g) stop means on the lid adapted to engage said case to limit sliding movement of the lid; and wherea (1) said lid is movable to move said pellet receiving chamber relative to said duct from a normal position aligned with the outlet of said duct wherein it is adapted to receive one pellet at a time to a position so aligned with the outlet in the case that it is adapted to dispense a pellet;

(2) said gate in the latter position functions to close the outlet of said duct.

2. A pellet dispenser for holding and dispensing pellets of uniform shape and size, said dispenser comprising:

(a) a rectangular case having a floor and side and end walls, one of which end walls is lower than the other;

(b) a first partition member fixed relative to said floor and extending upwardly therefrom adjacent one of said side walls to define with the other of said side walls and said end walls a substantially closed boundary;

(c) a lid slidably received between said side walls and spaced from said floor so as to define with said floor, said first partition, and said other side and end walls a pellet storing chamber, said lid being slidable over the lower of said end walls and abutable with the other of said end walls;

(d) at least one duct in said chamber adapted to hold a number of pellets in a single row, said duct being formed :by said floor, a second partition member fixed relative to said floor, one of said end walls, and the lid, said duct having an inlet end in open communication with said chamber and an outlet end;

(e) a dispensing outlet formed through sa-idone side wall adjacent said duct;

(f) a slide channel in said case having boundaries defined by said first partition, said one side wall and said floor, said channel having the outlet end of the duct and the dispensing outlet in communication therewith;

(g) a downwardly projecting gate fixed to said lid and projecting into said slide channel, said gate having a pellet receiving chamber therein shaped to receive one pellet at a time from the outlet end of said duct; and

(h) stop means on said lid adapted to engage said case to limit sliding movement of said lid; and wherein said lid is movable from a normal position wherein the chamber is aligned with the outlet end of the duct to a pellet dispensing position wherein the chamber is aligned with the dispensing outlet.

3. Pellet dispenser according to claim 2 wherein the stop means comprises a downwardly projecting member fixed to the underside of the lid for engagement with the lower end wall of the case.

4. A pellet dispenser according to claim 2, wherein:

(a) said second partition member terminates at one end substantially mediallyof the case to form the inlet end of said duct; and

(b) said second partition is joined at the other end thereof to said fitrst partition to form therewith a substantially L-shaped composite partition.

5. A pellet dispenser according to claim 4, including:

(a) channels formed in said side walls to slidably receive said lid; and

(b) a shoulder formed on the higher of said end walls and projecting therefrom beneath and in slidable engagement with said lid and wherein said lid is slidable on said shoulder within the limits of movement of said lid.

6. A pellet dispenser according to claim 5, wherein:

(a) said dispensing outlet is in the side wall of said case defining, in part, the boundary of said slide channel;

(lb) said side wall has formed thereon a shoulder projecting into said slide channel; and

(c) said shoulder forms one side of the groove in said side Wall and a boundary of said slide channel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,958,101 5/1934 Duell 221-246 2,365,511 12/1944 Barnes 221266 2,605,892 8/1952 Waber et al. 221246 FOREIGN PATENTS 531,479 8/ 1955 Italy.

LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner. RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Examiner. 

1. A PELLET DISPENSER FOR HOLDING AND DISPENSING PELLETS OF UNIFORM SHAPE AND SIZE, SAID DISPENSER COMPRISING: (A) A CASE HAVING A FLOOR AND UPSTANDING PERIPHERAL WALLS FIXED TO SAID FLOOR; (B) A FIRST PARTITION MEMBER FIXED RELATIVE TO SAID FLOOR AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM ADJACENT ONE OF SAID WALLS TO DEFINE WITH THE OTHER OF SAID WALLS A SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSED BOUNDARY; (C) A LID SLIDABLE ON A PLURALITY OF SAID WALLS AND SPACED FROM SAID FLOOR TO DEFINE WITH SAID FIRST PARTITION, THE OTHER OF SAID WALLS AND SAID FLOOR A PELLET STORING CHAMBER; (D) AT LEAST ONE DUCT IN SAID CHAMBER ADAPTED TO PERMIT THE PASSAGE OF PELLETS THERETHROUGH IN SINGLE FILE RELATIONSHIP, SAID DUCT BEING FORMED BY SAID FLOOR, A SECOND PARTITION MEMBER FIXED RELATIVE TO SAID FLOOR, ONE OF SAID OTHER WALLS, AND THE LID, SAID DUCT HAVING AN INLET END IN OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID CHAMBER AND AN OUTLET END; (E) A DISPENSING OUTLET IN THE CASE; (F) A GATE FIXED TO SAID LID AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM INTO SAID CHAMBER, SAID GATE HAVING A PELLET RECEIVING CHAMBER THEREIN; (G) STOP MEANS ON THE LID ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID CASE TO LIMIT SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE LID; AND WHEREIN: (1) SAID LID IS MOVABLE TO MOVE SAID PELLET RECEIVING CHAMBER RELATIVE TO SAID DUCT FROM A NORMAL POSITION ALIGNED WITH THE OUTLET OF SAID DUCT WHEREIN IT IS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE ONE PELLET AT A TIME TO A POSITION SO ALIGNED WITH THE OUTLET IN THE CASE THAT IS ADAPTED TO DISPENSE A PELLET; (2) SAID GATE IN THE LATTER POSITION FUNCTIONS TO CLOSE THE OUTLET OF SAID DUCT. 